THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH-APRIL 2026 9 over assistance,” Carol asks, “Is this humane?” Put me down as a NO! And I’d ask a question. Is this really what Americans want to be known for? [End quote.] Carol Mathia USAID FS family member, retired Cheyenne, Wyoming Working Through a (Literal) Storm I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the former USAID Foreign Service officers and Foreign Service Limited officers who made the U.S. response to Hurricane Melissa a success. Despite being illegally fired by this administration, you put aside your reservations and willingly assumed your same job with the State Department. Your work since Melissa devastated parts of the Caribbean is proof of the successful humanitarian assistance model that USAID implemented for decades. Regardless of what Marco Rubio may say, we know that you are the reason this ongoing effort will succeed. USAID may be gone, but your work, your way of doing business, and your commitment live on. Randy Chester USAID FSO, RIFed/retired Incline Village, Nevada Our Selling Skills Apropos of nothing or perhaps of everything, I, at age 95, would like to remind my fellow diplomats that our principal duty is to go abroad and do what is necessary to learn, interpret, advocate, and sell the policies of our government as well as to learn, interpret, and sell to our government what other governments and their people are thinking and doing that can help our government form its foreign policy. When it comes to our serving in Washington, the emphasis is on interpreting and presenting what we have learned to our political masters who essentially control policymaking especially when the governing administration picks and chooses among options we present or others we do not. This is a case of exercising our sales skills at home just as we do with governments abroad. It often takes a special effort to achieve. The world is constantly changing. But diplomacy remains the same—whether correctly applied or not. So let us concentrate on our selling skills and remember that we are diplomats at home as well as abroad and the sales skills we bring are essentially the same whether at home or abroad. George Lambrakis Senior FSO, retired Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom n Share your thoughts about this month’s issue. Submit letters to the editor: journal@afsa.org Corrections In the November–December 2025 In Memory, the obituary for Julia Nelson Easley Mak misidentified Jean Doyle. She is the spouse of Emma C. Hersh. Additionally, the Virginia Declaration of Rights was incorrectly referred to as the Virginia Bill of Rights. We regret the errors.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=